About 17 years ago I had a brief conversation with a woman whose 20 year-old daughter had just been diagnosed with a widespread pain disorder very few had heard of. As I listened to the mom tell me what the girl suffered, I thought to myself that I experienced many of those same problems. But being a missionary on furlough who was heading back to Croatia in a matter of days, I blew it off as just a bit of hypochondria.
Nearly two decades later I find myself with the very same diagnosis: fibromyalgia. As I look back on 17+ years of an undiagnosed pain disorder I'm pretty sure that being a stubborn chick has been a true blessing (though for others it my stubbornness may have been more of a curse!).
Sure there have been days when I stayed in bed, but thinking that most of what I experienced was a normal experience of life motivated me to push through most of those days the way those around me seemed to be doing. (Yes, I know it's stupid to think that everyone regularly has times when everything aches and they are tired out of their minds, but I assure you that's not the stupidest thing I've ever thought!)
So now that I have discovered that I actually have a disorder for which there are well established ways to manage the pain and fatigue, I'm feeling a great deal of relief and excitement. The possibility of feeling good looms larger than life before me.
And to those who would say, "Christine, you are one stubborn chick," I reply, "Yes, and stubbornness pays of...sometimes."
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